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It’s HERE! The Spring 2022 One Room Challenge is upon us! I am dishing out some home office inspiration with a DIY Ikea hack to drool over! I’ve been planning this home office inspiration / home office renovation for over a year now and the One Room Challenge was the motivation that it took to get the ball rolling!
Home Office Inspiration Board Reveal:
Can I get a drum roll for my mood board?! I’ve been so excited to share this with you all!
There are some aspects of my home office that are still in the works, but overall, this is the general home office renovation inspiration mood board! This post is everything home office inspiration. It is full of ideas, so that you can produce a similar customized DIY Ikea hack built-in organized space. You will also get a run down of my purchase list so far!
Full Disclaimer: I’m thrifty and budget conscious!
Alright, it’s time to be real honest! I’ve been telling you all that I was going to do this home office renovation for months now and that was nerve wrecking! I have always considered myself to be quite handy! I’m willing to try pretty much anything DIY! I have no desire to hire anyone to complete a project I can do myself! Doing the work yourself can save you thousands! Youtube is a lifesaver! Google your project and the web will provide a wealth of DIY instructionals. Someone has been in your shoes and has done something similar to what you envision in your head. Luckily, by absorbing the steps others have taken, you can create your own customized masterpiece. You just need to know you can do this yourself. I’ve dabbled in drywall, plumbing, electrical, tile, and hardwood floors. But built-ins and a whole room in a relatively short period… that’s a lot! But, I’m here to tell you that you can do it! You will get frustrated, run into issues and ask yourself half a dozen times why you decided to do this large of a project. However, every time you walk into that room, you will be thankful that you did it!
Plan it out and take your time or join the next one room challenge so that you have a deadline and a whole group of creatives that can help motivate you to finish your room! Check out these horrible before pics! I need a space with organization, more white and plenty of space to hide the clutter!
The Before Photos:
There are several things that attracted me to the One Room Challenge. I love that there’s a deadline with the reveal date, but that you can also choose to start early! This project was started in mid-January because I had to stalk Ikea for weeks for the dressers and bookcases to come back in stock. I also knew that life is busy and that I had certain obligations that would take me away from this home office project. The One Room Challenge is not a competition, which I love. It’s a home decor event that encourages creativity, camaraderie among others with the same drive and determination and a wealth of home decor inspiration for all rooms and spaces in and around your house. Check out all the spaces being transformed on the ORC Blog page!
Plan it Out!
For me, planning this home office makeover was the most important thing and also the hardest. Ikea has so many different dressers, shelving units, etc that I considered using. I reviewed the dimensions of every single Ikea dresser and cabinet and the size of my office. My preference is to have a drawer over a cabinet, and that was what lead me to the white Songesand dresser. I liked the drawer fronts that have a shaker vibe and clean lines with a little bit of detail. The other part that was important to me was the depth of the dresser as I had the idea to put a printer drawer in one of the dressers so that my work printers is hidden.
Next, I had to decide whether I would continue to have my desk in the middle of the room or if I wanted it against the wall. I ultimately decided that I wanted a space that would grow with me and my family over the years. Having a space where I could remove the desk in the middle of the room and have a built in desk was optimal. I liked that I also had a place to use my cricut and craft without having to clear off my desk! My home office also features my peloton and I have opted to not put a rug in my office for both the ease of rolling around in my office chair as well as the desire to have the peloton on the mat that it came with.
Rockler Jigs and Products!
I am most excited to team up with several companies for my home office renovation. One of those companies is Rockler! They have so many home improvement items on their website here that are budget friendly and perfect for your next space. Rockler has a custom line of jigs that make DIY projects so much easier, like their Rockler jig-it knob and pull pro drilling guide and Rockler JIG IT® Shelving Jig & 5mm Bit Set! They gifted me a rev a shelf mixer stand that I am planning to put into one of the dressers as a printer lift. As a result, I will need to alter the drawer fronts. I will use over extend drawer slides and Rockler’s drawer slide jig, as long as everything goes as planned! Stay tuned for the directions on how I achieve this and what I learn along the way in a few weeks! I will be using their soft close drawer devices, rev a shelf file drawer system insert, brushed bronze square knob, and brushed bronze square pulls!
I have read dozens of blogs and watched dozens of videos for built-ins. Not one of them included what I feel is the MOST important thing to know when building DIY built-ins that go wall to wall. Are you ready? Anticipate that your walls will NOT be straight/flat. Nope, not a chance. Not one of the 3 walls I attached the builtins to was straight. Gaps everywhere! Horizontally… nope! Vertically… nope! Be prepared, breathe and know that you can do this and that trim and caulk will be your best friends! I honestly like the look of the trim, now that I’ve installed it and it hides a multitude of sins! (And if you do have straight walls, miraculously, I’m amazed and jealous!)
What’s up next for this DIY home office space:
Creating a countertop/desktop and Ikea Hack some built-ins:
I will be glue and plane 3 2 x 8 x 14 ft pieces of yellow pine into a countertop. This will be the desktop for the Ikea hack built ins. Next I will stain the wood gray (a slight variation from the mood board!). I will then cut down the billy bookshelves and fasten them together. Next I will be adding trim and continuing the crown molding around the top of the bookshelves. Lastly will be using a lot of wood filler, trim, backer rod and caulk to fill the gaps before painting the trim sides of the bookshelves where wood filler was used.
Love vs Design Peel and Stick Wallpaper:
I have loved every project I’ve seen that has used wall paper on the back of bookcases. I am teaming with Love vs Design for custom peel and stick wallpaper. The wallpaper will attach to the backs of the built in bookcases! I have 3 different designs that I am choosing from, but I am leaning towards the one in my mood board. That wallpaper I’ve linked here. What I love about Love vs Design is that you can pick any of their patterns and customize it with any color combination! The choices are truly endless and there is absolutely something for everyone! I plan to use it in our laundry room next!
Pop of Paint:
I’m painting my office doors and the front door SW Iron Ore and will share that process here and my tips and tricks learned along the way!
Adding Fabrics:
I also have plans for custom curtains, wood blinds and want to either keep my current window bench or create a new one. It’s our cats favorite place to lay when in my office and they are the rulers of this household!
New Lighting:
I will up date the light with a modern light. I want to get a brushed bronze fixture to match the new drawer pulls and desk knob. The sputnik fixture in my home office inspiration mood board caught my eye. I plan for the fixture I choose to be fairly similar.
Glamming up a old piece of Furniture
Finally, I will be refinishing my desk that has been beat up with my moves over the years. I will be priming it and then painting it a light carolina blue and will share that shade once decided!
Here’s a list of all other supplies not already listed!
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4 Songesand white ikea dressers
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2 Billy bookcases – 31.5 in
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2 Billy bookcases – 15 in
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gorilla wood glue
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clamps
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Ryobi planar
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Ryobi 10 in table saw
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Ryobi band sander and 1/4 sheet sander
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Ryobi drill
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Ryobi multi tool
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Ryobi Brad nailer
- hammer
- wood shims
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80 grit sandpaper
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120 grit sandpaper
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220 grit sandpaper
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pre-stain conditioner
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minwax stain – gray stone
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polycrylic coat (to seal the counter)
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trim
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crown and base molding
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paint – Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
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paint – white (custom matched using an ikea shelf)
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Dap wood filler – white
- paintable white caulk
- zinsser B.I.N synthetic shellac primer
I have linked most of the exact products used in my LTK below and on my Amazon storefront as well as some extras that I love for office decor! I hope this DIY project gives you some home office inspiration. While it’s not easy, I want you to decide that you too can tackle a project like this on your own! Check back next week progress pictures and details on the counter top and the room prep!
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